Bell: $2,000 TEC fine due to ‘clerical’ error

Published 3:38 pm, Wednesday, August 31, 2016

The Texas Ethics Commission has levied a $2,000 fine against the campaign treasurer for the Friends of Cecil Bell for violating the Texas Election Code on campaign finance reports dating back to 2013.

The TEC received a complaint Aug. 7, 2014, from Montgomery County resident Jim Doyle.

According to that complaint filed against Sara Taylor, the campaign treasurer for the Friends of Cecil Bell Jr., the reports did not disclose political contributions, political expenditures and loans. It also claims the group accepted contributions from corporations. According to the TEC, it did not accept a claim that political contributions were converted to personal use due to lack of proof.

The Order and Agreed Resolution, dated July 5, states the commission found six expenditures totaling about $2,480 that were made as reimbursements, but Taylor did not disclose the original expenditures for which those reimbursements were made. The commission also found one expenditure of $250 where Taylor did not disclose the correct purpose of the expenditure.

There were 11 expenditures the commission found no evidence of a violation.

Bell said he set up the Friends of Cecil Bell Jr., a specific-purpose committee, in May 2012 to raise funds. At that time, he said, he was told that was the only way to raise funds since the state representative districts were being redistricted at the time and it was unclear what district he would be running for. He learned later that information “was incorrect.” The committee was dissolved on Oct. 27, 2014.

“The S-PAC is a lot less forgiving,” Bell said of requirements on the filings to the TEC.

When Doyle filed the complaint, Bell said he would pursue legislation to stop “meritless” complaints. While there have been several bills to address complaints that are simple clerical mistakes, Bell said he did not file any legislation and there still are areas that need to be addressed.

Ethics violations, Bell said, are serious but added clerical mistakes on reports are most often just simple mistakes.

According to the TEC, the $2,000 fine has been paid.

Doyle maintains elected officials should be able to correctly fill out reports.

“If he is going to be a lawmaker,” Doyle said, “he should follow the law.”

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In an unrelated order, the TEC levied a $100 fine against The Woodlands Township board member Jeff Long. The TEC currently is reviewing a complaint against township board member Mike Bass, also for alleged violations of the election code but has not made a ruling.

For Long, the commission found he was in violation of the election code for not reporting political contributions on campaign finance reports; not including office sought, election type and date of election on his campaign finance reports; and not reporting the purpose of political expenditures on campaign reports.

It is not known who filed the TEC complaint against Long.

“It was very minor,” Long said. “It was clerical. It is one of those painful things you go through when you run for public office. Small mistakes happen; and sometimes people want to make a big deal out of nothing.”

While the complaint against Bass, filed by Doyle, was not available, he said it alleges he did not include the residence or business street address for his campaign treasurer; did not properly disclose political contributions and political expenditures; did not file reports in a format prescribed by the commission; and accepted an in-kind political contributions from a corporation and converted political contributions to personal use.

Bass said the allegations against him were also clerical mistakes and he did not violate the election code.

“My complaint is still awaiting a decision by the commission,” he said. “But I believe (my) response (to the commission) clearly shows any errors were unintentional and not material.”